


Would Have Been

by Dirty_Corza



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-17
Updated: 2013-07-17
Packaged: 2017-12-20 10:36:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/886257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dirty_Corza/pseuds/Dirty_Corza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the prompt of "Laundry!"</p><p>
  <i>The dry cleaners was only two blocks away. Two blocks away, and a straight shot, yet here he was, half an hour after he set off, arms full of fabric needing to be cleaned, and he didn't even know where here was. </i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Would Have Been

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Random_Nexus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Nexus/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Time To Live Our Lives](https://archiveofourown.org/works/842189) by [Dirty_Corza](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dirty_Corza/pseuds/Dirty_Corza). 



John frowned as he took the coats off the rack, preparing to take them to the dry cleaners. Sherlock's had managed to slip through his fingers, and was lying in a pool of fabric at his feet. Normally, he would have left it there, but there was a stain, a dark stain right over the chest, and he hated the thought of Sherlock going out in his coat with it less than perfect. With a sigh, he bent down, making sure to grasp it firmly this time, thinking nothing more of how strange it was to have fallen in the first place.

"Headed to the dry cleaners!" he called out as he went down the stairs, door shutting with a thud before Sherlock had a chance to burst out of his room, staring at the empty coat rack with cold dread building in his stomach. 

"You weren't supposed to take mine, John.." he murmured, lost in thought for a moment before he gave himself a firm nod, grabbing his scarf and rushing off to find John.

\- - -

The dry cleaners was only two blocks away. Two blocks away, and a straight shot, yet here he was, half an hour after he set off, arms full of fabric needing to be cleaned, and he didn't even know where here was. 

"Bloody hell," he muttered, turning in a full circle as he tried to find his bearings. Unfamiliar, run down buildings, and, was that a sheep pasture behind that- farm house? A sliver of fear slid down his spine, melted away by the fury that built when the reality of it fully settled in.

"No. You don't fuck with me, magic coat. Oh yes, I know what you are, you evil, vile thing. But don't think transporting me to the outskirts of London or wherever you've sent me is going to get me away from him. I've laid claim to Sherlock, and you aren't bloody going to stop me, neither is whoever made you, and convinced a young boy to trade his soul for a fucking magic coat. You hear me?

"We are going to the dry cleaners, that stain will be gone by the time we're done there, and then we're going home. Now." He turned back toward the buildings, walking determinedly into the shadowy alley, head held high. In minutes, they were walking down the street to the dry cleaners again.

\- - - 

Sherlock couldn't find him anywhere. John was simply nowhere to be found in the five block radius around Baker Street and the dry cleaners. Every alley, it seemed, held only a woman with a terribly ugly face twisted into a smirking grin. On he hurried, on and on, hoping, praying that he wouldn't see John anywhere near that wicked thing.

He'd nearly given up hope of finding him when he saw her emerge from an alley in front of him, fury written on her features. Just seconds later, a very determined John walked out the same alley, head held high, fury written on his features as well.

Safe, though, was the only feature Sherlock cared about. Safe, no signs of injury or anything more than mild frustration. He breathed a sigh of relief. When he'd seen that John had taken the coat and gone, he'd feared for the worst, to see John lying on a sidewalk in a pool of his own blood. As it turned out, though, it would seem John was much more resourceful than even Sherlock knew.

**Author's Note:**

> Not officially part of the series, but definitely set in the universe of Time To Live Our Lives


End file.
